Mining

We provide both legal and financial advice on all aspects of mining activities, including corporate issues, contracts, environmental issues, investments, tenders and public procurement.

The applicable law and procedures are complex, and numerous permits are required. This can delay or halt the development of mining projects. We can help you to deal effectively with these regulatory challenges.

Our team of experts advises on all types of mining projects (greenfield, brownfield, projects in production or in decommissioning).

How can we help?

Environmental protection

  • Helping to obtain all required documents and permits to carry out environmental impact assessments;
  • Supervising environmental impact assessment procedures, in particular to ensure that they are conducted regularly;
  • Representing clients before environmental authorities and local authorities;
  • Participating in meetings with Regional Directors of Environmental Protection and Provincial Inspectorates of Environmental Protection;
  • Cooperating with environmental experts to ensure optimal project implementation, taking into account the investor’s interests while minimising the project’s environmental impact;
  • Helping to obtain water law approvals;
  • Helping to obtain waste generation permits and develop extractive waste management programmes;
  • Advising on potential liability for environmental damage and historical environmental damage, helping to obtain decisions establishing a remedial plan.

Transaction consultancy

  • Advising mining sector companies on transactions related to the sale of companies (share deal) and assets (asset deal);
  • Advising on all types of joint ventures (consortium, joint venture, shareholders’ agreement, farm-in, farm-out, JOA etc.);
  • Analysing the legal and tax issues affecting mining projects and existing companies;
  • Designing optimised tax structures for M&A and JV transactions;
  • Advising on financing mining projects via corporate finance, project finance, bonds or IPOs.

Day-to-day advice to mining companies

  • Providing corporate advisory services, including acting as corporate secretary, acting on the Board of Directors, Supervisory Board, General Meetings / Shareholders’ Meetings proceedings, arranging financing from shareholders, etc.;
  • Advising on copyright, data protection and competition law;
  • Preparing and negotiating contracts required for day-to-day operations;
  • Advising on labour law;
  • Representing mining entrepreneurs in any disputes with contractors;
  • Providing day-to-day tax advice.

Selected projects

  • Advising the largest Polish mining group in the upstream sector on various administrative proceedings, including: concession proceedings; proceedings to obtain a decision on environmental conditions; and proceedings on waste management
  • Advising on a process resulting in the documentation of a lignite deposit with a resource of one billion tons of coal. Representing the client in concession proceedings and over 100 court and administrative proceedings which led to the creation of precedent-setting land access safeguards
  • Developing and implementing financing models for shale gas exploration operations (including various company legal form models, JV financing) for companies owned by the largest global upstream conglomerate
  • Advising a New York-based private equity fund (active in the metal ore exploration and production market) on buying-out a minority shareholder (a mining company based in Australia) in a company pursuing metal exploration ventures in Poland
  • Advising on a competitive bid for copper and silver exploration and prospecting concessions in Poland
  • Advising on obtaining a coal exploration concession and on a dispute with a competitor about the possibility of obtaining a mining concession for the same area
Awards

Related news

Investment Climate in the Mineral Sector
Events
SSW advised on the strategic merger between PGNiG S.A. and PKN ORLEN S.A.
Deals

Our experts

Piotr Spaczyński Managing Partner
Anita Palukiewicz Partner

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